Understanding
by sixdegreesofseperation
Summary: "Thanks."It was a simple word,very short,especially when he said it so quickly,but it stilled and warmed Hermione's heart.She smiled sadly and leaned in,her lips softly brushing against his cheek./.DRAMIONE Sequel to 'Childhood Memory'T,LANG,OOC.R&R DL?DR


**Sooo I'm back with more Dramione ;)! YAY!**

**Sequel to 'The Childhood Memory.'**

**Rating: T?**

**Word Count: 2,422**

**Characters: Draco M. & Hermione G.**

**Genre; hm... Humour, Romance, Hurt/Comfort **

**Disclamier: © I do not own anything closely related to Harry Potter, or it's merchandise. No copyright infringement intended.**

**If I did own the Harry Potter phenomena; Draco and Hermione would have shagged all day and gotten together in the end ;), Pansy would suddenly have a fetish for blood-traitors and take Ron for some pureblood spin, Harry and Ginny would have been together from the very beginning, Our dear Tom Riddle, the poor, poor, orphan would return and switch sides, Fred would have never died, Snape , our dear, loyal spy would have not had such a tragic and pointless death and be remembered as not some bullied moron, but as a Slytherin who died like a Gryffindor. Dumbledore would have somehow returned and we would ALL be happy.**

**Oh, and Bellatrix would stop being such a psycho and be the good auntie to Dwacy we all wished she would be.**

**Begins in 'TPA' (The Prisoner of Azkaban) when Draco gets scratched by the 'bloody chicken' (Hippogriff) and is resting in the hospital wing. Hermione brings work. Nuff said.**

…**...**

Hermione ground her teeth together for the umpteenth time. She could _not_ believe that she had been assigned parters to him. Ungrateful git.

The small heels of her ballet shoes tapped the hard, cold linoleum floor of the hallway as she made her way towards the Hospital Wing.

It's not as if he got _that_ hurt. Just a mere scratch that would get infected if not mended immediately. Besides, it was an instinct to tell Hagrid to carry the blond to the hospital wing.

_Just Instinct._

Her stiff hands pushed the door open forcefully and she walked in, her lips pursed and face determined.

A girl with a dark brown bob was currently all over Malfoy. Well, not literally_, _but hovering over him like a love-sick fool, while said patient was currently trying not throw up his dinner. Hermione's brows rose at the boys cold treatment.

The girl looked up and threw Hermione a cold glare.

"_Yes_, mudblood?" Her nasally voice asked. Hermione had to say, Pansy wasn't one of those ugly girls with annoying voices and no brains. She was rather beautiful, with a cute button nose and full pink lips.

"I'm here to do the work I have so _unfortunately_ been assigned to go over with Malfoy." Hermione snapped and paid no attention to the girl's shocked face.

"_Unfortunately_?," The girl snapped as she made her way to the dirty blonde. "You're lucky enough to breathe the air we do." The girl continued and Hermione rolled her eyes. She reached out for her wand and pointed it towards the girl.

"_Immobulus_," She murmured and said girl stopped moving, went absolutely immobile. She smirked, having permission from Professor Dumbledore to put up with no nonsense since her second year, could _not_ get her in trouble. She grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her outside, leaving her there to freeze in the cold.

"You really didn't need to do that," Malfoy's irritated voice came from behind her. She looked up and smirked.

"Really? Do you want me to bring her back in?" She asked sweetly and her smirk turned into an innocent smile.

"No!" He answered almost immediately.

"Good."

…**...**

Hermione looked up from her work to see Draco struggling with his, the arm moving awkwardly as he wrote on his parchment.

"Do you need help, Malfoy?" She asked timidly and his brows scrunched up.

"No, mu- Granger." He snapped and went back to work.

"Fine, then."

"Uh-huh."

"Git." She snapped and closed her books, resting comfortably on the bed beside his.

He looked up and his eyes darkened, but he didn't say anything. She took a minute to observe his arm critically.

"What?" He finally snapped and cradled his arm.

"It doesn't look so good-"

"It's all that bloody chicken's fault."

"He was merely showing everyone what would happen if they weren't treating him with respect, Malfoy!" She finally snapped and cringed when she did, when she realised she was lowering herself to his level.

"_Hah_."

"You, are such a _hypocrite_!" She yelled.

"_Me_?"

"Yes, _you_," She said and pointed a finger at him. "You walk around like a git, proudly showing off your pure blood and wealthiness, and bully people that don't have the privileges that _you_ do. Do you even know what it feels like being a mudblood? I bet you don't. You're pure-blooded, I get that. And I understand that your Father had been teaching you to treat everyone like they were beneath you, but you're so _damn stupid_ that you don't realise that those jokes get tiring, over-used and absolutely meaningless and don't hurt the way they used to. If I were a pure-blood, I would _not_ be treating people like that, even if I were a bloody Slytherin! And you know what? I am _so_ proud of being a muggle born because then I can show off my knowledge and let people know that all the mighty and superior 'pure-blooded' crap is nothing but a piece of disgusting and completely full of _shit nonsense_ that jealous git's like you go spreading around." She finished bravely and proudly, just like the Gryffindor she is.

When she looked up, her face fuming and fist's clenched, she saw Malfoy with his mouth hanging open. She raised her eyebrows at his surprised state but didn't say anything.

"Wow."

_Silence, unbearable silence_.

"Um..," She murmured awkwardly and looked down. "That felt sort of good."

Malfoy's mouth shut closed and he raised his eyebrows.

"Is that what you really think of me, Granger? Because you don't know _anything_." He said calmly and stared her down.

"I know your father is a death eater." She said carefully and sat down, looking down while she blushed. After a couple minutes of silence she looked up at Draco, and furrowed her brows in confusion.

He looked lonely, betrayed. _Sad_.

"I don't like being controlled." Was his answer.

"And that means..?" She wanted him to continue.

"It means that, I like being independent. I like having a choice. But if going along with my father's wishes saves my family and friends, then so be it." He answered coolly but didn't look up. "Why do you care, mu-Granger?" He asked, playing with the bandages around his arm.

"Sometimes you need someone to talk to." She answered automatically.

"Yeah, so you can run along and tell Potter and Weasel? Nice, Granger. Very nice." He answered but didn't dare look at her. Hermione tried to ignore that part.

"I am my own person, Malfoy. I like being independent too," She mumbled and laid down again. "I don't like telling them everything that goes on in my life, either."

Malfoy looked up and his face showed confusion.

"Why are you being so damn, nice? What do you want?"

"I am lonely too, Draco."

The silence that followed wasn't necessarily bad, but it was different, confusing and annoying. Hermione smacked a hand over her mouth when she spoke his name.

"Elaborate, please."

Hermione breathed in deeply.

"I'm the only girl in the group..." She trailed of heavily and looked down.

"And?"

"_And_ , It's hard being around boys all the time, it's hard not being able to talk about.. family problems, friend stuff, _girl _stuff." She stressed out and threw her hands in the air to prove her point. "I mean, they make me tell them _embarrassing_ stuff, and it all just makes me want to go hide and never show my face again. It's like _they_'re controlling me, _using_ me." She snapped and Draco watched on, amused. "Do you know what they said to me after I helped them with everything- Granted, they saved my life-? They said that I'm a full of myself know-it-all with no friends. What the hell was I supposed to think? I repeat, they _did_ save me and I took the blame. But straight after that, they needed more help and came to me, _again_. They've been using me for information and homework for nearly three years now. But I'm still giving them a chance to prove themselves."

Silence once again.. comfortable silence. Hermione looked up to see Draco staring at her curiously.

"I do not wish to become...- to be like my father." He spoke finally and shook his head, looking down. "He wasn't always like that, you know. He was a real father to me once."

"Tell me."

"I mean- he was.. I guess, not such a hater. He still looked down on mud- muggleborns and half-bloods... but he never hated them with such animosity. He was different, _normal_. He got his Dark Mark after he married my mother. She.. I guess she's not in love with him anymore. She's scared of him. But she stayed to protect me." He gulped down the saliva that build up from all the talking and then his face scrunched up as if he smelled something vile. "Since I was five, he has been telling me all these _stories_ of how he absolutely _adores_ that-that _snakeface._ About how he killed so many people.. he should be in Azkaban by now. I don't even know how the Ministry hasn't caught up with him yet."

"Do you want him to go to Azkaban?" She asked carefully and gently touched his arm. His body stiffened but he didn't push her away like he was supposed to. He looked up at her pleadingly.

"He's still my father mud-Granger." He caught himself again and sighed. "He'd probably gonna get kissed."

"I'm not meaning to be cruel, but he's going have to go to Azkaban soon. It's either that, or death."

Hermione moved to his side and dropped her hand, and instead decided rest her head on his shoulder, something she would have never even done with neither Ron or Harry. He stiffened once again and the dirty blonde didn't even feel him breathe.

After what seemed like hours, he finally relaxed slightly. Hermione's eyes closed from exhaustion and she leaned in carefully.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into his arm. Her breathe hitched when she felt something crawling behind her back, and only after that she realised that it was Draco's arm. She stole a peep at him and was mesmerised by what she saw.

The moonlight shun up his sharp features that was covered by the creamy and soft-looking skin. His grey eyes were temporarily unfocused as a wet trail of shining tears stained his both cheeks. She sighed and pulled away, and Draco furiously rubbed at his cheeks, making them slightly red.

She pushed him down on the hospital bed, being careful of his right arm. His eyes closed and his breathing evened out.

Hermione took out her wand and pointed it at the books and parchment, muttering a quick spell, they followed her directions. An arm caught hers and Hermione turned around.

"Thanks." It was a simple word, very short, especially when he said it so quickly, but it stilled and warmed Hermione's heart. She smiled sadly and leaned in, her lips softly brushing against his cheek.

His arms wrapped around her tightly and Hermione had no choice but to lean in.

"Goodnight." She murmured after he let her go. She shot him another sad smile, knowing that this was probably the first and last time they were able to have a civil conversation.

…**... (After the Hippogriff get's killed.)**

She stormed into the library when she saw him walk in. She saw him go to the 'Restricted' section, and grabbed his arm when she caught up with him.

He turned around to face her and Hermione winced when she saw the aftermath of her punch. A redness surrounded his cheek and under his eyes, and his nose had a cut. Looks like he didn't heal it with magic.

Memories of the death flowed in her brain and her bottom lip trembled, her vision blurred and she dropped her hand. She spoke three words, three heartbreaking words that made Draco's breath hitch.

"_How could you?" _She whimpered, shaking her head and taking a step back. Draco dropped his cloak and made a step forward, but she shook her head quickly and backed up, smashing into the book case.

"I _need_ to keep my appearances up, Granger." He pleaded and took another step forward.

"Bu-but.-"

"But nothing. I can't have a sudden change of heart, it's _who I am_." He murmured, and his hand brushed her shoulder. Hermione trembled and he dropped his hand.

Hermione took a seat and composed herself, breathing deeply in and out. Draco sat on the table.

"It was wrong of me to tell me father," He said and brushed her hair out of her face, his fingers lingering on he cheek. Her eyes looked unfocused for a moment and her mouth formed a perfect 'o'.

"What?"

"It was you..." She mumbled and cocked her head to the side. "Dumbledore said that- that I had an unknown visitor last year when I was petrified. That was you..." She said and nodded, as if everything made sense suddenly. She looked up and one brow rose.

He nodded.

"I have to go." He said suddenly and stood up, picking up his cloak and making a bee-line for the door.

"Wait!" She yelled and caught his arm.

"Yes?"

"Can we be friends?" She asked pleadingly and let go of his arm, making him face her.

"That- That's the thing, Granger. We _can't_. We're to different." He stressed out and shook his head. Her arms surrounded his torso and he breathed in quickly, momentarily hugging her back. "Just- if... when I say something offensive to you in the next couple of months, or years... I- I just.. I won't mean them. I understand now." He murmured and pulled away, grinning sadly. She nodded and let him go.

_And there goes the hope_.

…**...**

**Woo-hoo! Hope you liked it! Review!**


End file.
